A CASE

FOR A

N

UNRESTRIC

TED G

IFT

Januar

y 8, 2

015

WHY

BOOKSPRIN

G?

We

launch

child

ren in

to a

wor

ld o

f

read

ing

TWO CLOSELY RELATED SOCIAL PROBLEMSE C O N O M I C I N E Q U A L I T Y

In 2010, the top 10% of Texans earned about 48% of all income.

- Fort Worth Star-Telegram

In Austin, socio-economic separation has steeply increased in past 10 years.

– City of Austin

I N A B I L I T Y T O R E A D

In the United States, adult literacy is as low as 65%. - (Department of Education, 2012)

In Travis County, the rate of adult illiteracy is estimated at 13%. (TCALL, Texas A&M)

IN T

HE U.S

. TODAY

,

36 MILL

ION A

DULTS

CAN'T REA

D BETT

ER THAN

THE

AVERAGE

3RD GRADER

. Digital Text:

email, instant m

essage,

blog, comm

ents,

aggregation sites,

standard websites, w

ikis,

forums, m

ailing lists,

newsgroups.

Traditional Print:

letters, mail, form

s, books,

magazines, pam

phlets,

essays, poetry, textbooks,

fiction, travel guides,

meeting notes, signs,

code, notes, maps.

Medical Com

munications:

consent forms, m

edicine

labels, and health care

information, charts,

graphs.

mor

e at

: htt

p://w

ww.p

rolit

erac

y.or

g/the-

cris

is/th

e-us-

cris

is

*http://nces.ed.gov/naal/kf_demographics.asp

Imagine

modern

daily life if

you could

not really

understand

…

RESARCH S

HOWS

EARLY

INTE

RVENTI

ON

MATTE

RS

A new

born's

bra

in is

only

about 2

5% o

f its

adult

wei

ght.

But by

age

3, it h

as g

row

n dra

mat

ical

ly.*

*http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/brain-development/

BookSpring is unique in that develop the motivation to read in children from birth through elementary school.

Intrinsic motivation can be a well-spring for all other kinds of achievement. It can spark a desire to learn about other people, places, and things that can last a lifetime, including better health, employment, and overall quality of life.

CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO PRINT MATERIALS HAS POSITIVE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACTS

• Improves children’s reading performance • Instrumental in learning basic reading• Causes children to read more, for a

longer time• Produces improved attitudes toward

reading and learning among children

http://rif.org/documents/us/RIFandLearningPointMeta-OnePager.pdf

ADDITIONALLY, POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WERE INDICATED IN FOUR ADDITIONAL OUTCOMES:

• motivation to and interest in reading;

• writing performance; • language development; and • academic performance in other

subjects.

http://rif.org/documents/us/RIFandLearningPointMeta-OnePager.pdf

But are in need of future study.

DEFINITIONS OF MOTIVATION

Motivation represents "those psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal oriented.” (Mitchell, 1982)

“Willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organizational goals, conditioned by the effort's ability to satisfy some individual need.” (Robbins, 1993)

BOOKSPRING INSPIRES THE MOTIVATION TO READ IN AUSTIN

C L I E N T S

• Infants to age 3

• Early childhood

• Grade school

• Parents

• Caregivers

P R O G R A M S

• Choice-driven book donations

• Parent education events

• Teacher & schools donations

• Medical community engagement

• Public awareness

•MOTIVATION•ENGAGEMENT•KNOWLEDGE•CHOICE•FREEDOM

BOTTOM LINE: EARLY EXPOSURE TO READING WORKS!

BOOKSPRING’S SOLID RECORD & BROAD REACH

• 40 years of service to the Central Texas

• Serves 300 parents, 40,000 children, and distributes 100,000 print books annually

• Good relationships with school districts and childcare providers

• Strong and effective volunteer base

• Solid alliances with other literacy and early childhood service organizations

• Maintains strategic partnerships with 38 health and social service providers at 116 sites.

BEST USE O

F FU

NDS

PR

OC

ES

S O

F DE

TE

RM

I NI N

G P

RO

GR

AM

SU

CC

ES

S

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

CAN WE MEASURE OR DESCRIBE AN INCREASE IN MOTIVATION TO READ IN CHILDREN? YES! THERE ARE MANY WAYS.

• qualitative and quantitative methods – stories and spreadsheets

• standardized academic tests and psychological measures

• surveys, focus groups, and interviews

• self-reporting about attitudes and perceptions

• observation and textual analysis

• social network analysis to determine the scope of indirect reach

THE ABILITY TO POINT AND REACH OUT TYPICALLY STARTS AT 3 MONTHS

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS PICTURE?

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT? LET’S

FIND OUT, TOGETHER!

FORMATIVE & SUMMATIVE EVALUATION

Formative: Evaluates if our programs and services are really providing the effects we intend;

Summative: Provides information that shows if the effects we’re having are providing value for the people we serve.

Program evaluation vs. formal research: The former is aimed at improving practice, the later is aimed at improving knowledge which guides the practice.

Practice informs research, and vice-versa.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE = AGILE MISSION-BASED WORK

http://www.serviceuserandcarertoolkit.co.uk/steps.html

THIR

D PART

Y

PROFE

SSIONALS

AND

SCHOLARLY

RESEARCHER

S

ARE REALL

Y IM

PORT

ANT

OPPORT

UNITY

FOR

CHANGE

PR

I OR

I TY

IS

SU

ES

TO

AD

DR

ES

S

WHERE WE’VE BEEN AND ARE NOW

Total budget has ranged between $500,000 and $750,000 since 1999.* New government funding may be available but will be highly competitive.

*http://www.guidestar.org/

SUGGESTE

D PRIO

RITIE

S

For u

se o

f gift

ed fu

nds

1) Sustain and expand current programs

2) Create a public outreach and awareness campaign to keep reading front-of-mind

3) Evaluate programs and act upon findings

4) Initiate 2-3 innovative new “low-cost” pilot projects

5) Keep operational costs low and begin planning for a future endowment campaign

Total Request

$500,00

0 Current Programs $200,000 Outreach/Awareness $100,000 Program Evaluation $75,000 General Operations $75,000 New Initiatives $50,000

PROJECTED ALLOCATION FOR $500,000 GIFT

POSSIBLE NEW INITIATIVES THIS FUNDING WOULD ALLOW:• A project through retail spaces that cater to low income

families.

• A project designed to enhance reading with pre-writing skills.

• A project that links reading and acting out books

• A project focused on English second language development (22+ languages native to AISD students).

• A project to increase academic performance in subjects other than reading, such as science and math (pattern recognition).

• A project that compares digital versions of books to print versions.

• A project designed to increase interactivity between parents and children through storytelling, possibly with use of video.

STAKEHOLD

ERS,

PART

NERS, AND

CHAMPIONS

CO

NT

I NU

E T

O L

EV

ER

AG

E A

ND

GR

OW

NE

TW

OR

K

STEW

ARD

AND EVA

LUAT

E CURRENT

PART

NERS, SPO

NSORS &

FINANCIA

L SUPP

ORTERS

Individual, Corporate, Foundation, Government, Non-Profitshttp://www.bookspring.org/our-story/partners/

http://www.bookspring.org/2015-read-a-thon/sponsors/

http://www.bookspring.org/our-story/financial-supporters/

POSSIBLE NEW PARTNERS, FUNDERS, AND DONORS• ARTS ORGANIZATIONS (MIND POP, ZACH, BALLET AUSTIN,

POLLYANNA THEATRE COMPANY, AUSTIN CREATIVE ALLIANCE, CENTER FOR DIGITAL STORYTELLING)

• LIBRARIES (UT AUSTIN, WELLS BRANCH)

• CLOSELY RELATED LOCAL, STATE, and FEDERAL AGENCIES (CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS COUNCIL ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, TEA, IES, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES)

• EXPERIENCE-CENTERED FAMILY AND YOUTH FOCUSED BUSINESSES (LEGO, SIMON MALLS, FIESTA FOODS, HEB, SCHLITTERBAHN)

• ACADEMIC CENTERS AND INDEPENDENT EVALUATORS (UT, A&M, AEA)

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…

Presented by Emily Ball Cicchiniemilyballcicchini@utexas.eduTwitter: @emicicwww.oldstoriesnewmedia.com

www.bookspring.org